Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990

33 Restrictions on disclosure of information. U.K.

(1) No person who is or has been a member or employee of the Authority shall disclose any information mentioned in subsection (2) below which he holds or has held as such a member or employee.

(2) The information referred to in subsection (1) above is—

(a) any information contained or required to be contained in the register kept in pursuance of section 31 of this Act, and

(b) any other information obtained by any member or employee of the Authority on terms or in circumstances requiring it to be held in confidence.

(3) Subsection (1) above does not apply to any disclosure of information mentioned in subsection (2)(a) above made—

(a) to a person as a member or employee of the Authority,

(b) to a person to whom a licence applies for the purposes of his functions as such,

(c) so that no individual to whom the information relates can be identified,

(d) in pursuance of an order of a court under section 34 or 35 of this Act,

(e) to the Registrar General in pursuance of a request under section 32 of this Act, or

(f) in accordance with section 31 of this Act.

(4) Subsection (1) above does not apply to any disclosure of information mentioned in subsection (2)(b) above—

(a) made to a person as a member or employee of the Authority,

(b) made with the consent of the person or persons whose confidence would otherwise be protected, or

(c) which has been lawfully made available to the public before the disclosure is made.

(5) No person who is or has been a person to whom a licence applies and no person to whom directions have been given shall disclose any information falling within section 31(2) of this Act which he holds or has held as such a person.

(6) Subsection (5) above does not apply to any disclosure of information made—

(a) to a person as a member or employee of the Authority,

(b) to a person to whom a licence applies for the purposes of his functions as such,

(c) so far as it identifies a person who, but for sections 27 to 29 of this Act, would or might be a parent of a person who instituted proceedings under section 1A of the M1 Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liability) Act 1976, but only for the purpose of defending such proceedings, or instituting connected proceedings for compensation against that parent,

(d) so that no individual to whom the information relates can be identified, F1 . . .

(e) in pursuance of directions given by virtue of section 24(5) or (6) of this Act.

[F2 (f) necessarily—

(i) for any purpose preliminary to proceedings, or

(ii) for the purposes of, or in connection with, any proceedings,

(g) for the purpose of establishing, in any proceedings relating to an application for an order under subsection (1) of section 30 of this Act, whether the condition specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection is met, [F3 or]

(h) under section 3 of the M2 Access to Health Records Act 1990 (right of access to health records). [F4 or]]

[F4 (i) under Article 5 of the Access to Health Records (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 (right of access to health records).]

[F5 (6A) Paragraph (f) of subsection (6) above, so far as relating to disclosure for the purposes of, or in connection with, any proceedings, does not apply—

(a) to disclosure of information enabling a person to be identified as a person whose gametes were used, in accordance with consent given under paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 to this Act, for the purposes of treatment services in consequence of which an identifiable individual was, or may have been, born, or

(b) to disclosure, in circumstances in which subsection (1) of section 34 of this Act applies, of information relevant to the determination of the question mentioned in that subsection.

(6B) In the case of information relating to the provision of treatment services for any identifiable individual—

(a) where one individual is identifiable, subsection (5) above does not apply to disclosure with the consent of that individual;

(b) where both a woman and a man treated together with her are identifiable, subsection (5) above does not apply—

(i) to disclosure with the consent of them both, or

(ii) if disclosure is made for the purpose of disclosing information about the provision of treatment services for one of them, to disclosure with the consent of that individual.

(6C) For the purposes of subsection (6B) above, consent must be to disclosure to a specific person, except where disclosure is to a person who needs to know—

(a) in connection with the provision of treatment services, or any other description of medical, surgical or obstetric services, for the individual giving the consent,

(b) in connection with the carrying out of an audit of clinical practice, or

(c) in connection with the auditing of accounts.

(6D) For the purposes of subsection (6B) above, consent to disclosure given at the request of another shall be disregarded unless, before it is given, the person requesting it takes reasonable steps to explain to the individual from whom it is requested the implications of compliance with the request.

(6E) In the case of information which relates to the provision of treatment services for any identifiable individual, subsection (5) above does not apply to disclosure in an emergency, that is to say, to disclosure made—

(a) by a person who is satisfied that it is necessary to make the disclosure to avert an imminent danger to the health of an individual with whose consent the information could be disclosed under subsection (6B) above, and

(b) in circumstances where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain that individual’s consent.

(6F) In the case of information which shows that any identifiable individual was, or may have been, born in consequence of treatment services, subsection (5) above does not apply to any disclosure which is necessarily incidental to disclosure under subsection (6B) or (6E) above.

(6G) Regulations may provide for additional exceptions from subsection (5) above, but no exception may be made under this subsection—

(a) for disclosure of a kind mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (6A) above, or

(b) for disclosure, in circumstances in which section 32 of this Act applies, of information having the tendency mentioned in subsection (2) of that section.]

(7) This section does not apply to the disclosure to any individual of information which—

(a) falls within section 31(2) of this Act by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection, and

(b) relates only to that individual or, in the case of an individual treated together with another, only to that individual and that other.

(8) At the end of Part IV of the M3 Data Protection Act 1984 (Exemptions) there is inserted—

“35A Information about human embryos, etc.

Personal data consisting of information showing that an identifiable individual was, or may have been, born in consequence of treatment services (within the meaning of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990) are exempt from the subject access provisions except so far as their disclosure under those provisions is made in accordance with section 31 of that Act (the Authority’s register of information).”

[F6 (9) In subsection (6)(f) above, references to proceedings include any formal procedure for dealing with a complaint.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Word in s. 33(6)(d) repealed (16.7.1992) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Disclosure of Information) Act 1992 (c. 54), s. 1(1)(2)(5).

F2 S. 33(6)(f)-(g) inserted (16.7.1992) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Disclosure of Information) Act 1992 (c. 54), s. 1(1)(2)(5).

S. 33(6)(h) inserted (E.W.S.) (16.7.1992) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Disclosure of Information) Act 1992 (c. 54), s. 1(1)(2)(5).

F3 Word in s. 33(6)(g) repealed (N.I.) (30.5.1994) by S.I. 1993/1250, art.13;S.R. 1994/151, art. 2(1)

F4 Word and s. 33(6)(i) inserted (N.I.) (30.5.1994) by S.I. 1993/1250, art.13; S.R. 1994/151, art. 2(1)

F5 S. 33(6A)-(6G) inserted (16.7.1992) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Disclosure of Information) Act 1992 (c. 54), s. 1(1)(3)(5).

F6 S. 33(9) inserted (16.7.1992) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Disclosure of Information) Act 1992 (c. 54), s. 1(1)(4)(5).

Commencement Information

I1 S. 33 wholly in force; s. 33 wholly in force at 1.8.1991 see s. 49(2), S.I. 1991/2165 and 1991/1400, art. 2(2)

Marginal Citations

M1 1976 c. 28.

M2 1990 c. 23.

M3 1984 c. 35.